218,000 Designated Presidential Records
Access Restricted for 15 to 30 Years
During the term of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, 13.65 million presidential records were transferred to the Presidential Archives under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Of these, approximately 220,000 were designated records, which may be restricted from public access for up to 30 years.
On June 4, the Presidential Archives announced that it had received the 20th presidential records from record-producing agencies such as the Presidential Secretariat, in accordance with the "Act on the Management of Presidential Records." The transferred materials include records produced or received by 28 agencies, including the Presidential Secretariat and the Presidential Security Service, as well as records of acting presidential authority from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of Education.
By type, there are 7.77 million electronic records and 5.87 million non-electronic records. Among the electronic records, there are 380,000 electronic documents, 6.63 million administrative information data sets, and 740,000 web records. The non-electronic records consist of 34,000 paper documents, 692 publications, 1,200 administrative artifacts and gifts, and 5.83 million audiovisual records.
Among the transferred records, 218,000 are designated presidential records, accounting for 1.6% of the total. Designated records may be restricted from public access for up to 15 years, and up to 30 years if related to personal privacy. For comparison, former President Moon Jae-in had 393,000 designated records, and former President Park Geun-hye had 204,000.
There are 77 classified records among the 20th presidential records. In comparison, former President Moon Jae-in transferred 2,000 classified records, and former President Park Geun-hye transferred 1,100.
The Presidential Archives coordinated with the record-producing agencies to complete the transfer of presidential records within 60 days. The deadline for transferring presidential records is set before the start of the next president's term; however, in this election, where the term began immediately upon confirmation of the winner, the transfer process was particularly tight.
The transferred presidential records will undergo classification, organization, and quality inspection by originating agency and type, and will then be registered in the Presidential Archives Management System (PAMS).
Additionally, the Presidential Archives plans to sequentially organize and register the transferred records and provide public access to them through its official website.
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